


on the outside (looking in)

by Vennat



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Embarrassed Killua Zoldyck, Friendship, Gen, POV Outsider, Parental Leorio Paladiknight, Spoilers for Election Arc, spoilers for Greed Island, spoilers for chimera ant arc, this is just outsider pov on everyones favorite dilf leorio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27583142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vennat/pseuds/Vennat
Summary: Jun waits as patiently as he can while he hears Mimon rustle around on the other end of the line.“Is that-- Leorio? Isn’t his friend sick-- PRESIDENT?”ORLeorio from the view of a regular person.
Relationships: Gon Freecs & Leorio Paladiknight, Leorio Paladiknight & Killua Zoldyck
Comments: 5
Kudos: 98





	on the outside (looking in)

**Author's Note:**

> hey hey. leorio outsider pov fic. i love this funky lil man. spoilers thru the end of the series!!

1.

“Hello everyone, I’m Dr. Takamoto. Let’s jump right into the ice-breakers because they’re awkward and everyone hates them, so let’s just get them over with!” The class ripples with laughter and Jun smiles to themselves. He had been nervous that all of their professors would be stuffy, stuck up people. The medical program at this college was serious and rigorous, so he was glad this professor at least was somewhat kind. 

“Let’s just say our names, concentrations, and one interesting fact about ourselves, yes? I’m Ayako Takamoto, I have a doctorate in Neuroscience, and my interesting fact is that I’m from the Republic of Padokea!” the doctor then gestures to the person at the end of Jun’s row, and Jun quickly racks their brain for an interesting fact. Before long, it’s their turn.

“Uh, hi. I’m Jun, my concentration is Psychology, and my fun fact is that I have 15 piercings.” a few people mutter around him, as they have after pretty much everyone’s fact, but that’s about it. Jun pretty much checks out after that, turning in his seat more just to watch his classmates than anything. You can usually tell a lot more about a person from their body language than what they say. 

His eye catches on a man who is three rows from the back. Dressed in a suit, and with light facial hair, he looks a decent bit older than most of the others in the class. He’s next in line, so Jun tunes back into the discussion out of curiosity. The man clears his throat. 

“I’m Leorio. My concentration is General Practice, and my fact about me is that I’m a Pro Hunter.”

Jun blinks. There isn’t a twitch of hesitation on the man’s face and half the class is gawping at him. Dr. Takamoto clears his throat uncomfortably. 

“Leorio, please take this discussion seriously. It may be just for fun, but the point is to tell something interesting about yourself to your classmates so that we can get to know one another better.” 

Leorio frowns. 

“I have a Hunter’s License, Dr. Akamoto, I’m not--” he cuts himself off, grumbling and fishing through his pockets. He tosses a phone on his desk, then a pocket knife, then a pair of brass knuckles that look worn from use, then a wallet, then-- “Aha!” he pulls out a slim little card, the front of it emblazoned unmistakably with the logo for the Hunter’s Association. Now, all of the class is gawping. “Is this enough proof, sir?” he asks, smiling in a way that says  _ it is.  _

“Er, of course, Leorio. Um…” The doctor pauses, gathering himself. “If you would go next…?” he asks, looking at the person sitting next to Leorio, who is staring at Leorio in vague fear.

Well. This year just got  _ interesting.  _ Jun makes a mental note to talk to Leorio after class.

  
  
  
  


2.

Leorio, it turns out, is a supremely fun person to be around. Their dorms are on the same floor, which is nice, and Leorio is always willing to study together. The material doesn’t click for him the way it does Jun, but Leorio’s persistence more than makes up for it. He works tirelessly, and Jun admires his seemingly never-ending well of energy. 

It’s on one such study night that Leorio’s phone goes off. This isn’t an altogether unusual event, but usually when Leorio studies it is with a singleminded seriousness, and he will ignore any and all outside distractions, up to and including eating. For how much the other teen (and hadn’t that been a surprise!) liked to bug Jun about his eating habits, the other man could go days without a real meal without noticing. 

Today though, the ringtone is different than his normal one. Leorio has spent a great deal of time around Jun in the past month and a half that they’ve been in school, so Jun knows what his usual ringtone is. This song is peppy, bordering on annoying, and… about a cat? Not Leorio’s style at all. Despite that, he lights up at the sound. Making grabby hands across the stack of textbooks scattered between them to where his phone is on his bed, behind Jun, out of Leorio’s reach. 

“Answer it! Put it on speaker! Hurry, hurry!” Leorio prods, and Jun hurries to do so. Had Leorio been waiting on a call? He taps his fingers against the glass screen of Leorio’s smartphone, slapping the call answer and speakerphone buttons with frantic fingers. He catches sight of the contact photo, a white kitten looking mischievous and holding a knife, and the name, “tiny gremlin.” 

“LEORIO!” comes a voice, young but booming out of the phone. Jun tosses Leorio his phone, curiosity rising. Unexpectedly, Leorio doesn’t take it off speaker.

  
  


_ “GON!”  _ Leorio booms back and Jun winces at his volume. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the strength of Leorio’s lungs. “Why are you calling from Killua’s phone? Is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine, old man, stop worrying!” grumbles another voice from the phone, this one just as young as the first. Leorio just laughs at the insult, bright and happy. 

“What have you two little hellions been up to? How did the game go?”

_ Game? _ Jun thinks.  _ Maybe they play some sort of sport? They could be siblings, Leorio doesn’t talk about home much.  _

“We beat it!” chimes the first kid, Gon. Leorio splutters in shock, and Jun can hear snickering from the other side of the line. 

“Isn’t Greed Island supposed to be the hardest game ever? How did you two manage to beat it in only six months?” Leorio sounds incredulous, but Jun is less impressed. Six months for a game really isn’t that impressive. 

“Well, we trained with Bisky inside the game,” Leorio doesn’t seem to know who Bisky is, based on the confusion on his face. “And I met a lot of Ging’s friends! They told me a lot of stories, and they helped me get stronger, and we saw Hisoka! And, and then my hand got blown off--” 

_ “HHHAAAAAHHH??”  _ Leorio boomed, and Jun fell over with the force of it.

“You’re gonna break my eardrums, you old fuck!” yelled the other child on the line.

“Watch your language around Gon, KIllua!” Leorio reprimanded instantly, reminding Jun of their own mother. 

“I already know the fuck word Leorio, it’s ok!” answered Gon, and Leorio choked on his spit, before sobering up again.

“Wait, go back, explain about your arm please, Gon,” said Leorio, sounding strained. Jun sat back up, and Leorio shot him a stressed look. Again, it reminded Jun of his own mother.

“He has all ten fingers again, you worrywart. We’ll tell you in person about the whole deal, but there was a rogue player inside the game who was killing other players for their cards. We dealt with him and healed Gon up afterward. No worries.” Despite what KIllua has said, Leorio did still in fact look worried.

“I know you two can handle yourselves, but I would still appreciate it if you didn't give me a heart attack with some crazy story every time the two of you called.”

Both of the kids laughed, happy and bright, and the stress melted off of Leorio’s face, morphing into something much softer.

“So what about the game, Gon? Was your dad there?” Jun tamps down his confusion. It’s probably rude to be listening in on this, but Leorio did answer the phone on speaker, and he’s given no indication that he wants Jun out of there. 

“No,” says Gon, sighing. “It’s hard to explain how, but I ended up finding his student instead. His name is Kite, and he’s really cool! I met him before on Whale Island when I was younger, and he hit me in the face!” 

Leorio’s brow furrows again, with an angry set to it. 

“Gon.” He says lowly. “This, this Kite guy…” Leorio doesn’t seem to know where he’s going with his sentence, but on the other side of the line there’s a crackle, some rustling, and a sharp yelp before Killua’s voice comes through the phone. 

“He’s fine, Leorio. I wouldn’t let anyone dangerous near Gon, not like that.” Killua’s voice is low, probably to keep Gon from hearing him, and with a deadly seriousness Jun has never heard before in a kid. Leorio breathes out, the tension in his shoulders easing.

“Yeah, yeah, I know you won’t Killua. But I want you to stay safe too, ok?” Leorio’s voice is soft, full of love and seriousness. He  _ really  _ cares about these kids. 

“I-- you can’t just--  _ shut up! _ ” Killua shouts, obviously flustered, and then there’s a clatter and another squawk. 

“Don’t throw my phone Killua!” shouts Gon, and there’s more rustling before Gon comes back on the line. “We have to go soon, Leorio. Kite is taking us with him to investigate something, so we may be spotty on the contact for a while!” 

“That’s ok, just call me when you can! And come visit soon!”

“We will!” Gon agrees readily. There is something in the background that sounds suspiciously like a pouty kid saying  _ no we won’t  _ before there is an  _ oomf!  _ that can only come from someone getting elbowed in the gut, and Killua saying reluctantly, “We’ll call, gramps.”

Leorio smiles.

“You two  _ stay safe.  _ Or I will call Aunt Mito and have her send me more pictures from the two of you in the tub! And remember the first aid I taught you! And make sure you drink plenty of water! And--”

“We know, Leorio!” laughs Gon. “We’ve made it this long on our own, I promise we’ll be okay!”

“I know, I know. Just let me worry, okay?”

Gon laughs again, bright and cheery.

“Ok, Leorio! Good luck with your studies!” There is what could be called a grumble of agreement from Killua before the line goes dead. Leorio sighs, rubbing a hand down his face and displacing his ever-present glasses.

“Brothers?” Jun asks, unable to help himself. Lerio shoots him a wry grin, still edged with worry. 

“Something like that,” he says, somewhat cryptically.

“They sound like good kids.” Jun offers, and the rest of the worry slides from Leorio’s face. 

“Yeah. Yeah, they are.”

  
  
  
  


3.

  
  


Jun slipped into his seat next to Mimon. First class of the day on Monday, bright and early at eight in the morning. Jun took another sip of his coffee, hoping to wash away some of the grogginess he still felt. 

“Mimon, I went out drinking with Leorio last night.” He says, stilted. 

Mimon shoots him a confused look.

“Okay?” she says. “Did he get arrested or something?”

“No, no, nothing like that. It’s only… he told me these stories.” 

“Leorio is always telling stories. He never shuts up.”

“This was about… about Yorkshin.”

“Yorkshin? He’s never talked about that before.”

Jun finally drags his eyes away from where they’ve been focused on the coffee cup in his hands. He looks up at Mimon, and she finally seems to realize how serious this is. She leans in.

“After I left his place, I stayed up half the night watching news videos and reading articles, and everything he said checks out. He was talking about how his friends fought the Phantom Troupe, and how Kurapika- you know, the one he’s always calling?- fought them, and those two kids I told you about, Gon and Killua, were in the middle of it. I can tell you more later but… Mimon, I’m pretty sure Leorio helped kill a guy.” Mimon leans back in her seat, slightly wide-eyed. 

“I mean… he has a Hunters License. So it’s like… legal. Right?”

Jun blinks at her.

“That’s what you’re worried about? Not the fact that Leorio probably could kill us in two minutes flat? And that nobody would ever find our bodies?” 

“Is there a reason that I’m killing you?” Leorio asks, sliding into the seat next to Mimon nonchalantly and scaring the daylights out of them both. “I mean, I guess I could if you were both secretly criminal masterminds or something?”

“You told me about Yorkshin last night.” Jun finally blurts out after a long moment of awkward silence. Mimon elbows him in the ribs, and Leorio winces, rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Yikes. Well, there’s nothing much secret about it, it’s just sort of unbelievable. Did you want to ask something?”

“Did you really help your friend kill a member of the Phantom Troupe?” Mimon blurts out, and now it’s Jun’s turn to elbow her in the ribs. Leorio chokes on a laugh.

“Not really. Kurapika didn’t need any help with that, I just helped him to kidnap the leader.” 

Jun and Mimon gape at him.

“I feel like I shouldn’t ask any more questions, or you’ll have to kill me.” 

Leorio laughs again, and then the Professor walks in the door. 

Jun notices that Leorio doesn’t deny what Mimon said.

  
  
  
  


4.

  
  


The door to the classroom splinters to pieces, exploding inward. The students in the classroom scream, ducking underneath desks and covering their heads. Out of the corner of his eye, Jun sees Leorio do the opposite, leaping up into a ready crouch on the top of his desk.

“We’re here for revenge, against the head of the Nostrade--”

The man who began to speak is knocked backward with such force that he bowls over the two men standing behind him, and it happens so quickly that Jun misses what threw him backward in the first place. 

Leorio leaps from his desk, springing farther than Jun thought possible. He clears three rows of desks, landing feet first on top of the pile of the three men, bending over without delay and taking the guns out of their slack grasps. 

He quickly and concisely removes the magazines from the guns and tosses them one after the other into the corner. 

“Christ,” Leorio mutters, fishing his phone out of his pockets. “It’s always Thursdays, isn’t it.”

  
  


5.

  
  


Jun scrambles for his phone and then bounces his leg in anticipation as he waits for Mimon to answer. 

“Hey, Jun--”

“Turn on your TV. Right now.”

“Jun, what--”

“ _ Now,  _ Mimon, the news.”

Jun waits as patiently as he can while he hears Mimon rustle around on the other end of the line. 

“Is that--  _ Leorio _ ? Isn’t his friend sick--  _ PRESIDENT?”  _

“I know!” Jun screeches back. You missed it, they’ll show it again I’m sure, apparently, he punched one of the other nominees in the face, because apparently his friend who’s sick in the hospital is  _ Gon  _ and the other guy is his dad who  _ isn’t visiting him--” _

“I feel like Gon’s mom and I’ve only talked to him on the phone like  _ twice  _ what the  _ fuck-- _ ”

“ _ I know!”  _ Jun says, not sure what else to say. Jun and Mimon had been collecting Leorio’s work for him over the past few days since he had left to go see Gon in the hospital. They hadn’t heard much from him, which was to be expected, but the last thing Jun had expected when he turned on the TV that evening was to see Leorio, running for chairman of the Hunter Association, begging the crowd of Hunters to help him save his young friend.

Still, Jun could not deny his relief several hours later when the live feed from inside the Hunter’s Election shifted to the doors of the hall, bursting open to reveal Gon surrounded by a group of people. He recognized the kid's spiky green hair from the picture Leorio carried around in his wallet, and he had to say that outside of the hospital clothes the kid didn’t look at all worse for the wear. Jun breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight and switched off the TV. 

  
  


+1

  
  


“Jun!” came Leorio’s booming voice, and Jun turned around to see the other teen waving to him from the other side of the quad. He waved back and started in his direction. As he came closer, he saw three kids with Leorio, two chasing each other in circles and the third talking animatedly to Leorio.

“Jun!” Leorio said again as he finally got closer. The child-sized blurs had resolved themselves into what could only be Gon and Killua, from how many times Jun had seen the photo on Leorio’s desk, and a third kid he didn’t recognize. “This is Gon, Killua, and Alluka, Killua’s sister. They’re about to leave the area for a while to hike some mountains or something crazy, and so they wanted to come visit before they left!”

Whatever was going on between Gon and Killua seemed to have resolved itself, Gon sitting on top of Killua (who was pouting) and beaming up at Jun. 

“Hi Jun!” Gon chirped. “Leorio talks about you a lot! It’s nice to meet you!” 

“Hi, Gon. Leorio talks about you guys a lot too.” Jun said, smiling back without really thinking about it. Killua finally shoved Gon off of his back, sending him rolling through the grass with a yelp. 

“What lies have you been telling about us now, Dr. Oldie?” Killua asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants with a petulant scowl. 

“I haven’t even said anything bad, even though there’s plenty I could’ve said, brat!” Leorio sniped back without pause, and even Jun could tell that the insult was drenched in affection. 

“I still think you should buy us ice cream in apology,” Killua said, and smirked like a cat who got the canary when Alluka and Gon immediately began to chant  _ ice cream! Ice cream! _

Leorio sighed, but the fondness still bled through onto his face. He shot a look at Jun.

“Coming?” he asked, and Jun shook his head.

“Sorry, I’ve got a volunteer thing soon. You guys have fun.”

“I’ll try,” Leorio said, looking like a man to the gallows as the kids began to tug on his hands, Killua even springing up to hand over his shoulders like a monkey. 

As Jun watched Leorio walk away with the three kids swarming and chattering around him like a very small flock of birds, Jun felt like he understood Leorio a little better. These kids obviously meant the world to him, and as Jun thought about it he always was a little more… lifelike, talking to or about those kids. As they turned a corner out of sight, Jun shook his head, smiling fondly at the thought of his friend. 

Leorio really wasn’t as big of an enigma as one would think. 

**Author's Note:**

> https://twitter.com/elricsbnha
> 
> come talk to me on twitter!! and leave a comment please


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